Lawsuits Filed to Oppress Others, Dismissed

The courts and the judicial process are meant for people to seek justice and to have their disputes resolved. Unfortunately, not all lawsuits have merit, and some have been treated as a playground for the rich and powerful, who are often knowledgeable about the legal system and have the means to pursue lawsuits.

As a recent example, Orange County Judge Ronald L. Bauer dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Shaheen Sadeghi, a visionary retail developer, against Delilah Snell, the owner of a Santa Ana business. Judge Bauer stated that, in his opinion, the brief statement made by Snell about Sadeghi in the article in question is “matter of opinion and thus beyond the scope of provable defamation.” Furthermore, Judge Bauer concluded that Sadeghi’s legal action was an improper use of the judicial process to silence his critiques.

Sadeghi’s lawsuit reminds me of Donald Trump’s $5 million lawsuit against Bill Maher, filed after Maher asked Trump to prove that his father was not an orangutan. I am not sure what Donald Trump’s motivation was for filing such a lawsuit. But I do know that Trump has the money—perhaps a lot more than Maher—and Maher is a critique of Trump. However, unlike Sadeghi, Trump had more legal acumen. Perhaps Trump realized that he had no case and voluntarily dropped it, instead of risking the Judge dismissing the case—a good move for Trump to spare himself major embarrassment.